…and other assorted filmi musings
“Look what those mamoos at Eros did to our film, bhai!”
My latest review at DVD Times is up for one of this year’s biggest and most loved hits, the comedy sequel Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Unfortunately, the release from junk label Eros Entertainment offers one less than pleasing DVD.
KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI (1998, d. Karan Johar)
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (’Something Happens’) was the first Bollywood movie I ever laid eyes on and right from the get-go I was hooked. A viewing experience the likes of which I had never witnessed before, I was in utter awe of its exuberance, colour and magic and completely taken in by its emotional manipulation and unabashed cheese. There are very few films of any kind that I would dub perfect, but ‘KKHH’ is definitely one of them. It’s possible this nostalgia may cloud my judgement - after all, the film boasts an incredible amount of ‘cutesiness’ and I can understand how some may find it unbearable. Nonetheless, for those who are willing to dive head-first into this sea of twee and let the waves carry them away, I whole-heartedly recommend it.
A huge hit in 1998, ‘KKHH’ is an unusually and refreshingly female-dominated story that revolves around the triangle love tale of college pals Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan), Anjali (Kajol) and Tina (Rani Mukerji). The three-hour musical offers all the expected ingredients such as comedy, drama and song-and-dance sequences, but director Karan Johar keeps the tone light and breezy for the most part without resorting to too much ham or forced melodrama. Sadly, Johar’s subsequent films, while just as successful, have become self-indulgent and almost self-parody with bigger star casts, more extravagant sets and hammier acting with little of the warmth, fun and charm of this, his debut.
The biggest kudos in ‘KKHH’ must go to the cast who all put in sterling performances, particularly Kajol who gives a career-best. Despite her superstar status, Kajol has made very few films compared to her peers and has had even fewer hits, but if there’s one movie that perfectly displays her charisma, comedy expertise, acting prowess and dazzling beauty it’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai - the Kajol show!
Love triangle: Kajol, Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji
The DVD release of ‘KKHH’ from Yash Raj Films offers a decent quality transfer of the movie, but one that’s marred by slightly dark and murky colour rendition. A satisfying 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track is also on offer as well as adequate English subtitles and heaps of bonus features made of up interviews, deleted scenes etc.
ANBE SIVAM (2003, d. Sundar C.)
Although he is more known outside of south India for his rather more lame Hindi films (such as the Mrs Doubtfire remake, Chachi 420), in his Tamil-speaking homeland, actor/writer/director Kamal Haasan is deservedly revered as an Indian film legend. But whereas his likewisely popular acting peer Rajnikanth is listed in his screen credit as a ‘Superstar’, Haasan is billed as a ‘Super Actor’. And therein lies the difference between he and so many other Indian cinema stars. While the likes of Rajnikanth, Shah Rukh Khan and even Amitabh Bachchan have stuck to less artistic, but far more commercially-viable vehicles over the years, Haasan has instead used his massive popularity as a tool to bridge the gap between arthouse and mainstream Indian cinema. Though these attempts make little waves at the masala-soaked Tamil box office, they have solidified his reputation of being a hugely diverse, masterful and ballsy performer and filmmaker.
This black comedy drama from 2003 is a perfect showcase for Kamal Haasan’s talents and while he wasn’t sat in the director’s chair this time around, his fingerprints were clearly embedded in the film’s story and script. Awash with his trademark wry humour and bursting at the seams with left-wing political statements as well as his own, real-life views on religion, Anbe Sivam (‘Love is God’) is the tale of two strangers - one; a wise-cracking, disfigured communist (Haasan), the other; a cocky, young yuppie (well enacted by Madhavan) - stuck together on a long journey home to Madras. As they learn a few lessons in life along the way, the movie takes a break for a flashback sequence that rather pointlessly tries to pander to a wider audience with the use of some overly-melodramatic scenes as well as a dreadful, Jackie Chan-in-slow-motion-style fight sequence (it didn’t work - the picture still flopped). Nitpicking aside however, this nonetheless thoughtful and undervalued film is essential viewing for Indian cinema lovers. As is the case with much of Haasan’s work, and indeed with most geniuses’, Anbe Sivam is flawed yet brilliant stuff.
Opposites attract: Kamal Haasan and Madhavan in Anbe Sivam
Tamil DVD distributor Ayngaran International have released a two-disc set of typically exceptional quality - the film being offered with a crystal-clear 5.1 Dolby track on the first and with equally pleasing DTS audio on the second. No extras are included, but the superb picture quality more than makes up for it. Sadly, all that is lacking is a decent subtitle translation as the track featured is marred by awkward wording and a lightning-fast pace at times.
Since this particular WordPress theme and the blogroll function don’t appear to speak the same language, a good old-fashioned links page would seem to be in order…
BollyWHAT?
The ultimate resource for the Bollywood newbie. Also boasts an excellent discussion forum with an invaluable amount of song lyric translations.
Zulm.net
All the info and analysis you’ll ever need on the despair-inducing world that is Indian DVD releases.
BollywoodOnDVD.com
Another site of mine with more detailed screenshot comparison reviews from some of the more interesting multiple-choice DVD releases of Indian films.
Bollywood501
An invaluable picture and information archive of the golden age stars of Hindi cinema.
Filmi Geek
Newcomers to Indian cinema often have particularly interesting views to share. This die-hard Shabana Azmi fan gives her take on a wide variety of Hindi films.
ITWOFS.com
It’s not exactly a secret that copycats abound in Bollywood. S. Karthik lifts the lid on the many ‘inspirations’ found in Indian movie songs over the years.
DVD Times
Many of the latest Bollywood and Tamil discs go under the microscope at the UK’s most popular DVD review site, with contributions from yours truly.
On Christmas Day, a Tamil film by the name of Pachaikili Muthucharam will hit cinemas in India. Said to be a partial remake of 2005’s dull Hollywood thriller Derailed, the movie holds little interest save for one distinction - it will be the last silver screen appearance of beloved south Indian film actress Jothika. On September 11th, she married fellow actor Surya and shortly thereafter announced she was retiring from the movie industry after eight years. The news came as anything but a shock, as it has been the practise for years for Indian actresses to call it a day after settling down. However, unlike in Bollywood where there is a clamouring for wedded women such as Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi to make a comeback, the more conservative southern population are happy for the wives to stay at home rather than carry on working. So while Jothika’s adieu made few headlines in Kollywood and Tollywood, it didn’t even make so much as a blip in the north where she is almost unknown thanks to the minute exposure most Tamil and Telugu movies receive outside their own territories. After being one of India’s most successful and celebrated superstar actresses of the past decade, it seems a shame her departure will meet with little more than a shrug from so many.
Daughter of film producer Chander Sadanah and sister of actress Nagma, Bombay-born Jothika Sadanah began her career in Bollywood with the lead role in 1998’s Hindi musical Doli Saja Ke Rakhna alongside Akshaye Khanna. An unremarkable romantic drama (made livelier thanks to the stirring music of A.R. Rehman), the film bombed at the Indian box office upon release. Jo’s own performance too lacked spark and she soon decided to try her luck in Madras’s Tamil movie industry instead. Worlds apart from Bollywood’s candy floss productions, Tamil cinema for the most part has stuck to a rigid crowd-pleasing formula of heavyset, mustachioed heroes, fair-skinned heroines just turning 21, violent and bloody (not to mention badly choreographed) action scenes, irrelevant song numbers/comedy interludes and some themes of political corruption and family values thrown in for good measure. But despite a lack of decent female roles and Jo’s own inability to speak Tamil, her transition to southern films was a successful one thanks to an excellent dubbing artist, a bubbly personality transplant and a good few pounds added on which made her stand out - in more ways than one.
Jothika burst onto Tamil theater screens in 1999 with the Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge-esque romance Poovellam Kettuppar, co-starring future spouse Surya. Her introductory song, set amongst a sea of flowers, saw her exude exuberance with some simple yet well-performed dance moves. Her chubby-cheeked grin and cheerful charisma shined brightly - this was clearly a different Jo from the demure girl last seen in DSKR. After Poovellam Kettuppar proved to be a hit with the masses, it seemed Jothika had found her home. She soon solidified her newly-earned success in 2000 with Kushi (’Happiness’), a romantic comedy with Vijay that is best remembered for her outstanding rain song ‘Megham Karukkudhu’ picturised with Jo dancing with gay abandon in a rural village. The movie was later remade with the same title in Bollywood starring Kareena Kapoor, but Kareena’s skinny frame and forced enthusiasm were no match for Jo’s thunder thighs and effortless charm.
Making a splash: Jothika in 2000’s Kushi
Jothika spent the following years enjoying further success, expanding into Telugu cinema as well as starring alongside virtually all of south India’s biggest male stars such as Kamal Haasan, Rajnikanth, Ajith Kumar and Prabhu Deva. By sticking to the most commercial of film roles, she managed to maintain her popularity, all the while continuing to steal the show with her high-spirited, OTT antics. By the time 2005’s spooky comedy Chandramukhi with Tamil megastar Rajnikanth came along (one of the biggest Indian hits of the decade), she was the undisputed queen of south Indian cinema. It could be said that Jo’s choice to stay a star rather than dip into some less-mainstream movie parts severely limited the kind of career she could have had. Indeed, few of Jothika’s thirty-one films play that well outside of south India and none can certainly be considered classics. One very special thing does stand out in all of them though, and that is Jo herself. Her performances were always entertaining no matter what kind of bog-standard masala trip she found herself in. Jothika brought such a strong personailty and fervour to her films, the likes of which her true fans will never forget.
Don’t stay away forever, Jo!
This week sees the release on DVD of one of this year’s most successful Hindi films – the romantic and dramatic multi-starrer Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (‘Never Say Goodbye’) from writer/director Karan Johar. 2006 has been a tremendous year at the box office for Bollywood thanks to smash hits such as the superhero actioner Krrish, the rollicking comedy Lage Raho Munna Bhai and the fabulously entertaining Kajol comeback vehicle Fanaa. Most of the above films have also received refreshingly pleasing treatment for their DVD releases, boasting cracking 5.1 Dolby Digital audio, a plethora of extras and detailed, progressively-encoded video. However, they (along with many others) all unfortunately share a common niggle – they’ve all got the blues. An ugly blue tint to be exact.
These days, most Indian DVD distributors have their biggest DVD releases authoured by a company called Prasad Labs. When given ample resources, Prasad have been known to churn out some of the highest-quality Indian discs ever seen. Their work for Tamil DVD distributor Ayngaran in particular is very highly regarded. However, over the past year or so, many of their discs have seen a new colour-correction filter implemented that has greatly spoiled otherwise first-class transfers. The filter appears to maximise every blue/turquoise hue in the picture, rendering it looking far different than was intended. Last year’s sunny comedy Salaam Namaste wound up appearing cold and damp thanks to a dose of the blue stuff. It may be a case of Prasad merely working with the materials they’re provided with, but whoever is responsible, hopefully they’ll soon cheer up and remove this peculiar pigment from our TV screens. In the meantime, here’s a little visual evidence to back up the crime…
DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE (1995, d. Aditya Chopra)
Probably the finest example of Bollywood romantic comedy musicals and all of their grandest traditions (or cliches depending on your viewpoint). Everything from boy-meets-girl to disapproving parents to songs in the rain are on display here. And while even in 1995 at the time of the film’s release this may have sounded old hat, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (’Braveheart Will Carry The Bride Away’) had its story told with such earnestness and enacted with such gusto, it seemed as though it was as fresh as ever - and still does more than ten years later, where it continues to play in Indian cinema halls.
‘DDLJ’ depicted NRI (non-resident Indian) life in a resoundingly positive way for the first time in Hindi films. Its lead romantic pair of Londoners Raj and Simran - played by young up-and-comers Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol - were shown as being completely and happily integrated into Western culture and society, but still deeply cherishing their Indian roots. Their ensuing love story sees them defy their elders not in a reckless way, but in a sly, intelligent fashion that maintains both their parents’ traditional values and their own modern ideals. This smart, progressive scripting catapulted Bollywood popularity overseas and made Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol the massive stars (and most beloved on-screen couple) they are today.
Field of dreams: Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan in DDLJ
‘DDLJ’ is available worldwide as a two-disc DVD set from distributor Yash Raj Films. The transfer could be doing with more vibrant colours and a cleaner print, but is acceptable overall. A well-translated English subtitle track is included as well as plenty of interview and documentary footage on the second disc.
HEY RAM (2000, d. Kamal Haasan)
Arguably South Indian megastar Kamal Haasan’s most accomplished work both as an actor and filmmaker is the enthralling and exhausting 202-minute period drama Hey Ram (’Oh God’) released in 2000. Set against the backdrop of India’s impending Partition in 1946, this incredibly dark, powerful epic traces the journey of Saket Ram (Haasan), a Tamil archaeologist haunted by the rape and murder of his Bengali wife Aparna (Rani Mukherji) by Muslims rioting over the issue of the about-to-be formed Pakistan. Brainwashed by Hindu fanatics, Ram slowly descends into the brink of insanity as he dedicates his life to assassinating the man he holds responsible: Mahatma Gandhi.
A labour of love for Haasan, Hey Ram (which he wrote, directed, starred and even sung in) is a disturbing, multi-layered masterpiece that re-opens deep wounds from India’s past as it attempts to deliver a message of peace. Political, controversial and featuring numerous scenes of unglamourised violence and sex, it was banned in many areas of India and virtually ignored in the regions in which it was not. Reviews from the media were lukewarm - critics praised the film’s performances and technical prowess, but played safe and steered clear of voicing an opinion on its artistic content. Regardless of one’s standpoint however, it cannot be denied that Hey Ram is a mesmerising experience that runs a whole gamut of emotions. Its hypnotic imagery, brooding score and compelling narrative encapsulate the viewer in a dark world that is at times difficult to watch, but even harder to turn away from. Even those unaware of the movie’s many religious and political subtexts shouldn’t find it any less riveting.
Just as wondrous to behold is the movie’s eclectic all-star dream cast that includes Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, classically-trained singer Vasundhara Das (best known to Western audiences as the reluctant bride in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding) and veteran actor Naseerudin Shah, heavily made-up as Gandhi. The entire ensemble deliver powerhouse performances and seeing Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood’s number one romantic comedy actor, sporting a beard and turban and standing side-by-side with Kamal Haasan for the first time in movie history in the film’s bloody climax is a particularly exciting sight to behold for any Indian cinema fan.
Face to face at last: Shah Rukh Khan and Kamal Haasan in Hey Ram
Hey Ram was filmed in sync-sound in both Hindi and Tamil back-to-back and of the two available DVD releases, the Tamil disc from U.S. distributor BMD offers a superior anamorphic transfer, but sadly terribly out of sync subtitles. First time viewers would be advised to instead seek out the Hindi DVD from Eros International which only features letterboxed video, but far clearer subs.
It’s an impossible task to put together a definitive list of the ten greatest Bollywood films since opinions will vary wildly on the matter. Some who stick to the frivolous, more escapist side of Hindi movies will never take to dark Deepa Mehta fare while those favouring said serious cinema might rather chew their own arms off rather than be caught enjoying a Salman Khan rom-com. My tastes tend to lie somewhere inbetween and so I’ve come up with a list of ten (mostly recent) of my favourite Indian films that also acts as a good starter for anyone looking to get into commercial Indian cinema. They are, in alphabetical order…
ANBE SIVAM (2003, d. Sundar C.)
AWARA (1951, d. Raj Kapoor)
BLACK (2005, d. Sanjay Leela Bhansali)
DIL CHAHTA HAI (2001, d. Farhan Akhtar)
DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE (1995, d. Aditya Chopra)
HEY RAM (2000, d. Kamal Haasan)
KANNATHIL MUTHAMITTAL (2002, d. Mani Ratnam)
KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI (1998, d. Karan Johar)
LAGAAN (2001, d. Ashutosh Gowariker)
SWADES (2004, d. Ashutosh Gowariker)
I’ll be posting a mini-review for each in the coming weeks.
Even those only mildly familiar with Hindi films will no doubt have heard of 1998’s Dil Se (’From The Heart’). A flawed, but mesmerising tale of love and terrorism; it flopped in its home country upon release, but garnered massive praise from critics and film fans alike - even becoming the first Bollywood film to crack the UK box office charts. It has since gained further recognition as the movie that inspired Andrew Lloyd Webber to pen the Broadway musical Bombay Dreams and also earned a spot in Channel 4’s top 100 musicals programme. More recently, the instantly memorable ‘Chaiyya Chiayya’ song played out in every multiplex cinema in the world during the opening credits of Spike Lee’s hit Inside Man, spreading the word even further.
So, while Dil Se may currently be one of the most famous Hindi musicals out there, it unfortunately has garnered a rather more infamous reputation when it comes to its treatment on DVD. One would think Indian DVD distributors would be chomping at the bit to capitalise on Dil Se’s acclaim by producing and marketing a world-class DVD release along the lines of fellow mainstream favourites Lagaan and Asoka, but alas no. As it stands, there have been a total of four sub-standard releases so far - each doing little justice to the film, its renown or Indian cinema. Here is a rundown of each, along with the various positives and (mostly) negatives that go with them…
DEI - Platinum Edition (USA/Canada, 2000):
Regarded as the best of a bad bunch by Indian movie lovers when it comes to their DVD releases, DEI nonetheless didn’t provide as definitive a disc as you might expect from a release labelled ‘Platinum Edition’. Still, it’s a cut above the usual junk churned out by Hindi DVD makers and does boast a cracking, 5.1 Dolby Digital track with crystal-clear clarity and booming bass that may just be the best a Bollywood film will ever sound on your home theatre system.
On the video front, things aren’t quite as peachy, but still acceptable all the same. The NTSC transfer is progressive with minimal dirt/speckles and sharpness is well rendered. Colour rendition is respectable, if rather cold, but contrast levels are far too dark, leaving black shades crying out for more detail. Annoyingly, brief cuts in the print negative occur from time to time as well. The original 2.35:1 aspect ratio has also been cropped to 1.85:1 and letterboxed with no anamorphic enhancement.
The English subtitles provided are adequate - translations are decent, though occasionally some words and phrases are ditched for the sake of keeping the pace slower. The biggest detriment is a lack of subtitles for the film’s five songs. Though not crucial to follow the story, the lyrics offer a metaphorical insight into the characters’ state of minds.
EROS (USA/Canada/UK, 2001):
Currently the most widely available release of Dil Se, this DVD is actually a reprocessed version of the above DEI release, but of even lesser quality. Though taken from the same print, the transfer is lacking DEI’s sharpness and clarity, resulting in a very soft look and with numerous instances of dirt and speckles. The video is also deprived of DEI’s progressive encoding, instead merely making do with psedo-progressive interlace.
Otherwise, the disc is much the same as DEI’s - only just slightly more mediocre in every departmet. Colours are a little more bleak, the 5.1 Dolby track remains a great listen albeit at a lower bitrate and the English subtitle track is also unimproved upon, but sports an ugly bold Times font this time around instead. Distributor Eros boasts the biggest selection of hit Bollywood movies on DVD in the world, but their reputation for quality is far less illustrious as is evident here.
AYNGARAN (UK/USA, 2001):
Now this is more like it. Anamorphic transfer (cropped only slightly from 2.35:1 to 2.20:1), glorious colour and contrast rendition with excellent sharpness/detail and a superb 5.1 Dolby Digital track that rival’s DEI’s. The English subtitle track even includes those elusive sing lyric translations. It seems this is about as perfect a Dil Se DVD as anyone could hope for, right? Well, it would be were it not for one slight snag - this release from South Indian DVD label Ayngaran offers the dubbed Tamil version only. And it was all going so well too.
Now that the wind has been sucked from your sails, it may as well be the best time to list the other negatives affecting this otherwise first rate disc. A low bitrate applied has meant some ugly MPEG compression artefacts appearing now and then. Like the Eros disc, the NTSC video is not encoded progressively; pseudo-progressive interlace is used instead. And much like every other South Indian DVD release, the English subtitle translation is extremely sub-standard with awkward sentence structure and grammar.
While a Hindi audio track would’ve still made this by far the best option for the film on DVD, it is instead only a worthwhile purchase for Tamil speakers and/or die-hard Dil Se fans.
RAPID EYE MOVIES (Germany, 2005):
Bollywood is currently enjoying massive popularity in Germany, so it’s not surprising German DVD distributor REM would choose to release their own disc of Dil Se for the German market. Unfortunately, they have done an even greater disservice to the movie than their Indian counterparts with a truly atrocious PAL transfer. Sharpness and detail are non-existant, colours have a hideous green tint to them and while the anamorphic video offers the widest viewing angle of all four discs, the picture has been squashed slightly in the process. There aren’t much better things to report on the sound front, as the Hindi track provided is a distorted, scratchy 2.0 stereo. No English subtitles are provided.
SCREENSHOT COMPARISON:
So, weighing up the pros and cons, it looks as though DEI’s original release is the best option to go for overall - although good luck in finding it, as only a limited number were ever produced. Until Bollywood really hits it big in the West and a Hollywood studio bags the rights to the film, Dil Se fans will have to make do with the above flawed four.